© PA David Gest David Gest has been found dead in a London hotel room – as friends claimed he was “strung out” on sleeping pills in recent weeks.It is also understood the 62-year-old reality star had been on steroids to treat pneumonia.
The music producer, once married to Liza Minnelli , passed away in his suite at the five-star Four Seasons hotel in Canary Wharf, east London.
Friends who spoke to Gest in the last month said he had been taking a variety of drugs which left him disorientated.
One said: “He seemed strung out and went off the radar at times.
"He was taking some really strong medication because he was suffering from nasty chest problems that just wouldn’t go away.
“He also suffered from high blood pressure , which he had special tablets for, and had been on sleeping pills for years because he suffered from insomnia – he always slept at weird times.
“He saw a doctor within the last week because of his chest, and felt so unwell he had to postpone lots of plans, but he seemed to think he was on the mend.”
Police were treating the death as “non suspicious”.
A post-mortem is to be held to determine the cause of death.
David had been planning a UK tour called David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul – inspired by his recent Celebrity Big Brother appearance when housemates wrongly believed he had died.
He was forced to leave the show on medical grounds after he contracted a virus that affected his glands and immune system.
© Provided by Mirror Fellow contestant Danniella Westbrook revealed after leaving the house: “He had pneumonia. He was very, very poorly.”TV presenter Lizzy Cundy , a close pal of the star, told the Mirror: “He hadn’t been very well.
"He had a cough he couldn’t get rid of and he said to me: ‘Nobody believes that I’m ill.’
"We joked about him not getting rid of the cough. He always does wind-ups. When I got the call, I thought it was a joke.
“He had a doctor to see him a few weeks back, but he said he was starting to get better.
"He started coughing down the phone to me, and he had to get off the phone. That’s when he cancelled. But he was back on the road.”
On his untimely tour title, Lizzy added: “I literally said to him: ‘That’s a curse.’”
© Provided by Mirror His close friend Imad Handi confirmed his death, saying: “David was truly larger than life.
"He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon. I know he will be missed by millions of fans around the world, and particularly in Britain, who came to love his charm and blistering one-liners.
"If I may steal the words of one eminent critic, David was a natural star and a genuine celebrity. I will miss him.”
Gest was a regular on the showbiz circuit, and close friends included Coronation Street stars Kym Marsh and Ryan Thomas and former EastEnders stars Patsy Palmer and Dean Gaffney.
Dean tweeted that he had lost a “best friend”, saying: “Never have I lost a best friend before and this pain hurts harder than anything I’ve ever experienced. RIP David Gest, I love you brother.”
Fellow Celebrity Big Brother housemate Gemma Collins said: “Absolutely beside myself David Guest I [heart] you so much so so sad to hear this will never forget you X the phone calls I will miss so much RIP.”
David wed Liza Minnelli in 2002 but they split the following year amid claims she regularly beat him up, and they officially divorced in 2007.
He had to endure sniping from cruel critics who mocked his appearance and dubbed him a freak because of his looks.
© Provided by Mirror But it was his childhood friend Michael Jackson – who was best man at his wedding – who encouraged David to first get plastic surgery - which he later regretted.He said: “I did plastic surgery in 1980 and I did my eyes and I had a facelift when I was very young because Michael Jackson said to me, “You’ve got to make yourself always look better.
“I thought to myself, “Oh I’ll do this because Michael told me.” What an idiot I was.
"I’m telling people be who you are, you do not need to do plastic surgery, it’s the stupidest thing in the world.”
He added: “No one has a lower opinion of my looks than myself. I always thought I looked terrible and have never liked my looks.”
But Gest won over British viewers when he placed fourth in I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2006.
As well as becoming a reality star, David worked as a music video and television producer and even toured the UK with David Gest’s (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life Tour - which played 14 cities.
He was a judge on talent show Grease Is The Word and in January he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in the UK.
And one of his biggest successes during his career was producing the highest-rated music special in US music history - 2001’s Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration.
It was also understood that Gest had been on steroids to treat pneumonia.
In 2009 Gest was left distraught when Jackson died of an propofol overdose. Jackson had used the drug to get to sleep.
© Provided by Mirror Talking about his friend Jackson’s problems, Gest said previously; “I was aware there were problems, I knew he had trouble sleeping.
"I went to meet him some time after and he told me he’d taken sleeping pills; he was groggy and he didn’t sound like Michael.’
The last known photo of Gest showed him supporting a charity set up after the death of West Ham footballer Dylan Tombides.
Gest was shown holding a West Ham United scarf with other supporters of the club’s testicular cancer charity, the DT38 Foundation, set up in memory of the academy starlet who died from the disease aged 20.
© Provided by Mirror The picture was published on Twitter by the charity with the caption: “We’re all in huge shock! #RIP David Gest”Suites at the Four Seasons go from £1,000 per night.
Security at the hotel is tight with guests being escorted through the doors in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Staff remained tight lipped over the circumstances.
Gest had turned his back on America and moved to York - where he enjoyed eating roast dinner with Yorkshire pudding in his local pub.
Last month he said: “I will never go back to LA; I will die here and want to be buried in York. I love this country much more than my own.”
He said in 2014: “It’s my home and the most beautiful place in the world. You look at the Minster, the cobblestone streets, the history with the Vikings and the River Ouse running through.
“It also has the York Hog Roast. People come by and see me eating there and I tell them I’m having my turkey and my Yorkshire pudding, my stuffing, my crackling, my vegetables and my gravy and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Despite his starry credentials, Gest prided himself on being a man of the people.
He said: “I don’t look at celebrity the way others look at it. I’m down to earth. People come up to me in the streets in York and I talk with everybody.
“I don’t believe there’s really a difference between any of us. We all pull down our pants to go to the bathroom.”
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